The Elfking
by TheCartoonusMaximus
Summary: " He began reaching a hand up, as though to touch Ryou's face. "Would you like to stay in my forest with me, pretty boy?" Ryou froze, his breathe caught in his throat, his mind confused and clouded by fear and desire as he watched the deathly pale hand come closer. "


"the Elfking"

written 6-11-2018

inspired by "the Erl-king" by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, which is both a poem and a song that you can find pretty quickly in an internet search if you want to give it a read/listen

word count: 1,626

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There was something about the forest. Something otherworldly. Something _deadly_. Even the horses could tell that something was wrong, the animals skirting as far away from the forest as they could, quailing when Ryou and his father put them back on the path that edged the trees.

" _Honestly_ , now," Father chided the horse, pulling hard on the reins and forcing his steed to walk straight again. "I want to be home before the sun sets."

Father was a merchant, and had been traveling to sell his wares in the neighboring towns. Ryou was well into his teens, almost a man, and was old enough and clever enough to assist his father in his work. They had been traveling for several days now and were finally on their journey back home, just in time for winter to set in.

Ryou's eyes wandered to the thick forest beside the path, wondering what was setting the horses off like this. He knew the legend of the forest, but he didn't put much stock in it.

"Come on, now," the young man began, righting his horse another time. "The way you beasts are acting you'd think the Elfking himself were watching us!"

Father let out a laugh at that, amused by the idea of an imaginary creature causing their steeds to misbehave in such a way. "There may be wolves or bears living in the forest, and the scent is scaring the horses. It's more likely than that old legend, at any rate."

The old legend of the forest told about how a being known only as 'the Elfking' lived within the trees, a creature who supposedly lured wayward travelers to their deaths. But the legend was old and, in recent years, was primarily used to scare children from wandering very far from home. But Father loved learning about the old legends and tales, even if he didn't believe any of them were true, and he was forever explaining and retelling the tales to Ryou, the boy inheriting his fascination with the archaic lore.

Ryou's eyes wandered back to the forest, darting between the trees, looking for something that could be the cause of the horses' concern. Winter was coming, and the trees were almost bare, offering little coverage for any fauna living within, and the squirrels and birds stuck out noticeably whenever they moved.

Something caught Ryou's eye for an instant, a pale face set against the dark canopy, and then was gone as though it had winked out of existance.

Ryou blinked, startled. "Father... I think I saw a man in the forest."

"You mean like a hunter?"

"Maybe." The young man shook his head, trying to clear the image from his mind. "I'm not sure."

When he looked again, the face had returned, and it was much closer, its eyes locked with Ryou's. It was a man's face, but there was something wrong with it. Something twisted.

It smiled at Ryou, handsome and charming, than vanished again.

Ryou stared after it dumbly, his mouth dry, his heart beating in his ears like a drum. Father was saying something beside him, but Ryou couldn't hear the words.

The figure returned again, but this time it was standing a ways down the path, right on the forest's edge. Its arms were crossed over its chest as it stood there stoically, as though it had been waiting for them for hours.

Father let out a cry of surprise, and the horses both reared and stepped back. Ryou stared open-mouthed at the figure, startled and confused... and just a little bit smitten.

The figure looked almost like a man, its form tall and thin and unnaturally pale. Long, silvery tresses of hair was pulled back from its narrow face, cascading down its back like a silver waterfall. The figure was garbed in a long, black gown robe, the thin material moving like silk and changes colors like the northern lights. Small gems adorned the creature's robe and ears and face, twinkling like stars.

But what really got Ryou's attention were the figure's long, pointed ears, and even longer, pointier antlers. The antlers grew from its head like the branches of a dead tree, as though the creature were part of the forest itself.

The figure turned its beautiful face toward Ryou and smiled again, and Ryou couldn't help but smile back.

"Wh-who are you?!" Father demanded, moving his horse so that both he and the animal were positioned between Ryou and the mysterious figure. " _What_ are you?!"

The figure turned to Father, unimpressed. When it spoke, its voice was somehow both deep and light at the same time, sounding almost as though it were singing instead of speaking. "I am the light that brings death. I am the frozen wind of the winter, and the cold embrace of time. I am both the forest and the forest keeper. I am the Elfking."

"The Elfking..." Ryou repeated, full of awe and wonder.

The figure moved again, suddenly standing beside Ryou's horse and smiling up at him, the close proximity making the horse sidestep away.

"You're a very handsome young man," the Elfking commented, his voice full of laughter. "I must say, I find myself rather taken with you."

He began reaching a hand up, as though to touch Ryou's face. "Would you like to stay in my forest with me, pretty boy?"

Ryou froze, his breathe caught in his throat, his mind confused and clouded by fear and desire as he watched the deathly pale hand come closer.

His horse suddenly moved beneath him, Father's hands grasping the reins and pulling hard. Ryou breathed again, more than a little shaken, and forced his gaze away from the inhuman creature.

"Elfking or no, I'll thank you to keep away from my son!" Father yelled. He met the creature glare for glare, not quailing even once. Ryou couldn't help but be a little proud of him.

"Don't toy with me, mortal!" the Elfking sneered. "You'll find it unwise to interfere with my dealings. Now," he turned back to Ryou, his voice as sweet as honey. "Come here, little lovely."

Ryou swallowed but smiled, eagerly moving to comply, ignoring Father's outcry as he slid down from his horse, taking one hesitant step toward the Elfking, and then another.

"It's alright, lovely," the Elfking cooed, his outstretched hand beckoning Ryou closer. "You have nothing to fear from me."

When Ryou was close enough, the Elfking's hand came to rest on his cheek, caressing him softly. Ryou's vision gradually began to grow dark, until all he could see was the Elfking's smiling face in front of him, and all he could feel was the Elfking's warm hand on his cheek. He was dimly aware of Father calling for him, but he could barely hear him.

The Elfking fixed the horses with a stare, scaring them so much that they reared and whinnied and took off running, carrying Father with them. The path seemed to vanish, and when Ryou tried to look around him all he could see for miles in every direction was the forest.

"Are you cold?" the Elfking asked. His hand was gently raking through Ryou's hair, his lips pressing a kiss to the boy's temple. He lifted Ryou into his arms when the boy nodded. "Let's get you back to my home, to my warm bed and my fireplace."

Ryou blinked and suddenly he was inside a spacious building of some sort, the design reminding him of a longhouse and a palace and a spiderweb. He was laid down on a soft bed before a roaring fire and bundled up in softer, warmer blankets. He couldn't help but giggle as the Elfking leaned over him, nuzzling his cheek and kissing his nose. So filled with happiness was he that he almost didn't notice when his heart stopped beating.

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It was late when Father made it back to town, his eyes wide and fearful as he raved about a creature in the forest that had taken his son. The townspeople believed that the young man Ryou must have been slain by a wolf and warned their children once more to stay away from the forest.

Father's friends bought him drinks and brought him home, mourning the loss of his son with him, the blow of losing his only family member left hitting him especially hard. But nothing could be done about it.

No one believed Father's tale of the Elfking spiriting away his son. And, after a few drinks, neither did Father.

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Time passed. After almost a year, a young man opened his eyes once more, as he struggled to emerge from his chrysalis. The living, human form of Ryou Bakura was gone now, replaced by a new body, forged for him by the magic of the Elfking's forest.

Silvery hair framed his unnaturally pale face. Plantlike vines grew out of his body, the black tendrils wrapped comfortably around his arms and legs and waist and neck, forming something that felt like a crown around his forehead. There was a strange weight on his back, and when he craned his neck to look he saw wings, shaped like leaves but as thin and clear as an insect's.

Strong hands clasped around him, pulling him into a standing position, drawing him into a loving embrace.

"You are beautiful," the Elfking murmured, his lips at his lover's pointed ear. "My Elfprince."

The Elfprince made a sound of delight, pleased by his new name and how it sounded when his king said it.

And when the Elfking told him "You will stay here with me for all eternity," the Elfprince couldn't help but smile.

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 **Author's Notes:**

 **Even though he's never called by name, the Elfking in this story is intended to be Yami Bakura.**

 **I wrote this story in June and put it up on my tumblr page (and I was pleasantly surprised by how many people told me they liked it!), but I'm just now putting it up over here. If you read this far into it, I hope that means you also liked it.**

 **The amazing ninjam117 on tumblr made the most spectacular art for this story, and I highly recommend you go check them out. Partial links are below (remove the spaces and add appropriate address pieces) :**

ninjam117 . tumblr post / 174938019485 / cartoonus-maximus-youre-a-very-handsome

ninjam117 . tumblr post / 174962332650 / im-not-done-drawing-cartoonus-maximus-s

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 **Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it.**


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